MSB joins GCF to support certification of broadband Mission Critical Services

The Global Certification Forum (GCF) and Myndigheten för Samhällsskydd och Beredskap (MSB), the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, is pleased to announce MSB as the first public safety organization to become a member of the GCF as a Mission Critical Communications Operator (MCCO).

The GCF certification programmes assures device-network and client-server compliance to standards for mission critical devices and services, as well as contributing to reduce testing cost and accelerate time-to-market.

As a result of a multi-year collaboration, GCF and TCCA recently announced the support for Broadband Mission Critical Services into GCF certification program, starting with 3GPP Release-14 MCPTT (Mission Critical Push-To-Talk) specification. Members of both organizations participate in the Mission Critical Services Work Stream, that sets to align and speed up the market availability of certified 3GPP standards-based Mission Critical (also referred as Broadband Mission Critical), Services and Devices.

GCF MCCOs are key stakeholders in the GCF ecosystem for Mission Critical Services. Joining the GCF allows MCCOs to participate in GCF meetings and agreement groups, introduce and lead work items for the introduction of new technologies and standards, access the Device Certification Criteria (DCC) database, obtain detailed certification data provided by the mission critical product vendors and become Field Trial Qualified (FTQ) Networks.

Anders Granath, System Architect working with MSB’s next generation broadband mission critical project Rakel Generation 2, said: “For the first time, MCS product vendors can demonstrate conformance of their MCS clients and devices based on global standards maintained by 3GPP, and MSB is committed to support this certification. Our GCF membership sends a clear message that broadband mission critical services, based on global standards, are becoming a reality in Sweden.”

Lars Nielsen, GCF’s CEO, said: “We are pleased to welcome MSB as the first Mission Critical Communications Operator joining the Global Certification Forum. With other Mission Critical Communications Operators and mission critical product suppliers following, making interoperable, 3GPP standards-based mission critical services and devices will become a reality soon.”

The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) strengthens the ability of Swedish society to prevent and manage major accidents, crises and the consequences of war. MSB purports to safeguard people’s lives and health, social functions and basic values such as democracy, the rule of law and human rights.

The agency is responsible for delivering secure and reliable communications to Swedish user organizations in multiple sectors, such as public safety, emergency services and crisis preparedness. MSB has been an active member of TCCA since 2016 and is currently preparing to transition to a next generation 3GPP based mission critical network.

For 25 years the Global Certification Forum (GCF) has been leading the global ecosystem facilitating interoperable devices, networks, and services, enabling reliable and secure wireless communications. GCF’s solutions cover Mission Critical Services, 5G NR, LTE, Cellular IoT (NB-IoT and eMTC), eSIM and legacy technologies.

GCF has over 350 members, including major and smaller operators and service providers, device manufacturers, MCS Service providers, and the test industry, working together with key industry partners on certification programmes demanded by the market.